The present invention relates to illuminating and fastening sleeves for cigar lighters, and the like, especially for motor vehicles, such as described for example in FR-A-2 605 949, to which reference can be made for further detail.
As is known, a cigar lighter (FIG. 1) comprises a heating plug 2 having a movable knob 7 which carries a terminal shroud in which is mounted a heating resistance (not shown), with a lighter body 1 serving as a receptacle for the plug and an illuminating sleeve 3, which surrounds the lighter body 1 and which is arranged to be illuminated by the switch for the light and indicators of the vehicle.
In a manner known per se, the body 1 carries a bimetal strip together with electrical power supply components 5, 6, to set up an electric circuit when the knob 7 of the plug 2 is pushed in.
In this pushed-in position, the terminal shroud of the plug 2 is in engagement with the leaves of the bimetal strip, in a way that enables the heating resistance becomes hot.
Once the resistance reaches the desired temperature, the leaves of the bimetal strip dilate, releasing the shroud and the knob 7, which reverts to its initial position under the action of a return spring (not shown). It only remains to remove the plug 2 so that a cigarette, or a cigar, can be lit.
The body of the illuminating sleeve 3 is provided on its front face with an illuminating collar portion 4 which surrounds the mouth of the lighter body 1.
In a manner known per se, this sleeve carries at its rear end a light source such as an electric bulb 9, which is carried by a housing 10 mounted on the rear end of the sleeve.
The sleeve 3 is made of a material which is conductive to light, and is typically made of a synthetic material such as a plastics material.
By virtue of its collar portion 4 it enables the plug 2 to be located at night, as the sleeve 3 is illuminated by the bulb 9. Apart from this illuminating function, the sleeve 3 also fastens the lighter body 1 to a fixed wall 11 of the vehicle, such as the fascia or a console of the latter.
In this connection, the sleeve 3 has at least one resiliently deformable fastening tongue 13, which is also referred to as a repelling lug. This tongue 3 is wedge-shaped, and has a knurled and inclined front face 14.
Once the sleeve 3 has been fitted in the aperture 15 formed for this purpose in the wall 11, the wall 11 is sandwiched between the collar portion 4 and the inclined front face 14 of the tongue 13.
In a manner known per se, during the fitting of the cigar lighter on the wall 11, the sleeve 3 is first inserted from the front into the aperture 15 in the wall 11, and the lighter body 1 is then introduced into the inside of the sleeve 3.
During the initial fitting of the sleeve 3 on the wall 11, the tongue 13 is retracted by cooperation of its inclined rear face 16 with the edge of the aperture 15.
The sleeve 3 typically has nibs (which are not shown here), which are adapted to cooperate with complementary apertures formed in the lighter body, in the manner disclosed in the above mentioned FR-A-2 605 949.
More precisely, these apertures are formed in a barrel 17, which is typically of metal, of the lighter body 1.
The fitting of the lighter body 1 inside the sleeve 3 is thus carried out by snap-fitting, in which the above mentioned nibs of the sleeve 3 penetrate into the complementary apertures in the barrel 17.
After this snap-fitting, the terminal collar portion 18 which is formed on the barrel 17 at its front end, comes into abutment against the collar portion 4.
In order to dismantle the assembly consisting of the barrel 17 and sleeve 3, a tool is introduced into the inside of the barrel 17, and the nibs of the sleeve 3 are then urged outwardly apart, so that the lighter body 1 can be extracted.
Although it only remains then to extract the sleeve 3, its removal is not so easy.
In this connection, it is necessary, after the body 1 has been extracted in the manner described above, to take hold of the tongue 13 from inside, and to deform it towards the axis of the sleeve 3, while pulling on it in order that the tongue 13 can pass into the aperture 15 and through the latter.